A Happy Ending Or Will it Be?
by andypandy1996
Summary: This takes place AFTER Mass Effect 3, the red beam that destroys all AI is only configured to shut down all reapers, the Normandy did not follow the orders of Adm.Hackett to retreat, so they're still in the Sol system with the rest of the fleets. Shepard is still on the citadel (or wherever the rubble is). The Mass Relays were also not horribly damaged, but they are damaged.
1. Finding the Hero

Jeff "Joker" Moreau was thrown out of his chair by the violent red blast from the Crucible when it fired. "Ouch! God, I hope I didn't break a few ribs cause of that" he

said with a grumble. "After running system diagnostics, nothing appears to be damaged other than the outer hull plating, which is currently at 65%. If you need me to,

I can call to give you a physical" an automated voice said. "Thanks EDI, but I think I'm alright." Joker said to his co-pilot. EDI was just a voice in the ship before they

had gone to Mars to check out some Cerberus disturbances, now EDI was a full member of the crew after gaining access to a robotic body. She was an unshackled AI.

She had been since Joker removed the shackles when they were under attack by the Collectors who boarded and took the crew away, but Shepard immediately

rescued them from the base with his full team of brave, intelligent, and strong (and a little crazy) people. By now, most of those people were on Earth, but some had

stayed on the Normandy. Garrus Vakarian , the calibrator, Tali'zorah , the engines wiz, Ashley Williams, the XO who was first met on Eden Prime during the Geth attack,

and many others who had helped during the battle against Saren, and against the Collectors two years later. "EDI, see if you can raise Commander Shepard" Joker

said with a sense of urgency. Shepard had gone up the beam to the citadel to open the arms alone, he was successful, but nobody knew if he had survived. Cerberus

put him together again with tons of implants to allow him to live after he was ejected when the Normandy SR1 had exploded. "Message sent Jeff. No response." EDI

said after a moment. "He's still alive! I know he is. We just need to find him!" Joker said pounding his armrest. "Easy Jeff. Do not break your hand." EDI said with her

usual calmness. "I'm going to put us close to the citadel, only a few thousand yards away, then Cortez and a party can take the shuttle to look for the Commander."

Joker thought out loud. "I'll contact Lieutenant-Commander Williams and get her here right away." EDI said as she pressed a button on her console. Ashley Williams

was standing in Shepard's room, looking at the fish with tears in her eyes. "I know we weren't more than friends, best friends, but I would've liked to have been

more." She said quietly to herself. "Ashley, your presence has been requested on the bridge." EDI said over the intercom. "Thanks EDI, I'll be right down." She said.

Hopping in the elevator, she took it to the CIC and walked past the galaxy map, still shining bright, and made her way to the bridge. "What's the situation guys?" She

asked. "Jeff has had the idea that Cortez, James, and Engineers Adams and Donnelly begin looking for the Commander close to his last known position on the citadel.

There is a chance that he is still alive." EDI said. "Good idea Joker. Make it happen. EDI, tell Cortez, James, and the Engineers to get prepped. If Shepard is out there,

we need to find him." She said with a strong voice. The Normandy began to move towards the blackened citadel in the hopes of finding their Commander, and their

friend. In the shuttle bay, armor was being put on, weapons were being readied, and sensors were being checked. In-case any reapers had survived the blast, which

was unlikely, they would be ready. Getting the go-ahead from Ash, they piled into the shuttle and headed out of the bay. Surrounding the citadel were many, many

ships. Some limping away, like wounded animals. Some, not moving at all, either completely dead, or just with drive cores disabled. There were Turian, Krogan,

Salarian, Asari, and many, many freelance ships. There were also reapers. Hundreds of them. Processing Ships, Destroyers, and Capitol Ships all over the place, all

offline. All dead. The war had been won, but the cost of it was enormous. Casualties hadn't even been estimated yet, but they were sure it was in the billions. Cortez

set the shuttle down near the citadel tower. "Shepard's last transmission came from inside the tower. Bring him outta there." He said with some worry in his voice. "No

problem Esteban, if anyone can do it, it's us." James said with a grin on his face as he put his helmet on. The shuttle stayed on the ground while the rest headed into

the tower and ran up the stairs. There were hordes of husk bodies, marauders, and brutes all dead, on the ground when they got to the top. "This place looks like a

war zone." Adams said as he kicked one of the husks, expecting it to jump up. "It was. Let's just hope it didn't reach Loco." James said. They had special scanners on

the outside of their suits to detect human remains (OOS:I don't really count a husk as human) IS: "I'm getting something!" Donnelly shouted as he came to where the

council usually stood when court was in session. James and Adams ran over to a pile of rubble that Donnelly was starting to rip apart. All three of them worked

together to move all the rubble away. "It's Shep!" James shouted when they uncovered enough. There was faint movement in his chest and after a quick swipe with

an omni-tool, he was found to be alive. Just barely alive, but alive none the less. "Cortez! It's Adams! We have the Commander. We're coming back." Was the message

that went to the shuttle. Back on the Normandy, Cortez hadn't relayed the message yet, so some were still assuming the worst. Ashley was sitting at Shepard's desk

in his cabin looking at the models that were collected over the time, and she sat watching the space hamster run on his little wheel. "Uhh, Ash, we've got some...news

for you." Joker said over the intercom. "Let me hear it Joker. But don't make me regret it." She said with a sigh. "Oh, you won't regret it. Trust me. Commander Shepard

has been found alive on the citadel. The shuttle is on its way back now, but he's in rough shape. He'll be in the med bay if you want to make a report to him." Joker

said with a laugh. Ash stood there stunned for a moment. "Shepard. Alive. Coming back." She thought to herself. She shook off the shock and began to smile. Nothing

could keep Shepard down for long. Even after literally being dead, he came back and beat the Collectors. She walked to the med bay and sat on one of the beds. A

moment later, Shepard was brought in and set down on another. began to administer doses of medicine into him through an IV that was hooked into his left arm. As

soon as the doctor turned away, Ash walked over and gave Shepard a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad your back." She whispered to him. She sat on the bed next to him

while continued to work.


	2. Trip to Seattle!

Down on the Earth, there was devastation, but people were beginning to clean up. Rubble was strewn through the streets and crews were working hard to get the

planet back to a somewhat habitable state again. Shepard's old team had been broken up and was all over the place. Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Grunt were still in

London, as was Zaeed. Miranda Lawson was with her sister, Oriana, in Washington D.C. Mordin, Legion, and Thane had all give their lives to stop Cerberus and to

unite the galaxy in the war against the reapers. Jack was in Southampton with her biotic students. Jacob was somewhere with his soon to be wife and their unborn

child, and Samara was on Thessia still. None of them had heard the news of Commander Shepard yet, so many were still hoping that a miracle would occur and

Shepard would just walk up to them as normal. Nothing like that would happen though. Not yet anyways. Back on the Normandy, still orbiting Earth, stepped back from

the table where she had worked for 5 hours solid on Commander Shepard. "Is he gonna make it ?" Ash said with some nervousness in her voice. "Yes Ashley, the

Commander is in better shape than when he got here. I have high hopes for him. The anesthetic should wear off in about fifteen to thirty minutes. He'll need to go to a

hospital on Earth for a while, but he'll be awake soon. I can trust you to look after him for about 2 hours." said as she walked out of the med bay door. Ashley waited

and waited. She paced back and forth. The half hour seemed like an eternity. She was sitting at the desk in the med bay when she heard groaning behind her. "Ugh.

That must've been some party. I had a set of crazy dreams while I was out. Hey...why can't I move my arm?" The voice said. "Because you broke it playing space

hero." Ash said as she spun in the chair to face the now awake and sitting up Commander Shepard. "Ash. I should've known you'd be the one to get me out of there

when it got too hot." Shepard said with a laugh. "Wait. Have we stopped the reapers? Did the crucible work?" He said with some urgency in his voice. "Relax" Ashley

said lightly pushing him down with a hand on his chest until his head was firmly on the pillow. "The reapers were stopped. You ended the war between the galaxy and

them. We watched them explode from around the citadel." She said. A more relaxed demeanor came over Shepard's face. "I also took care of your fish and your space

hamster while you were out." She said with a smile. "Thanks Ash. I knew I could always count on you. No matter what the odds were." He said with a grin. "Now what

happens?" "Well, we need to get you to a hospital on Earth for observations, I'll need to make a report to Hackett about this, and we need to get this whole place

cleaned up." Ash said. "EDI, set a course for the best hospital that's still standing on Earth, and get me a conference with Admiral Hackett in the vid-comm room." "Yes

Ashley. After preliminary scans, the best hospital is in Seattle, Washington. I'll plot a course." EDI said. Ashley left the med-bay with a wave as was coming back

towards her. "He's awake and doing well." Ashley said with a smile. nodded and continued in. In the communications room, the hologram of Admiral Hackett was

already there. "Lieutenant-Commander, tell me you have some good news." He said. "I do Sir, Commander Shepard has been found alive on the citadel and he's in

good shape now. We're getting him to a hospital in Seattle for observation." Ashley said. "That's good news Williams. It'll be a morale boost all the races on Earth. But

we have a more pressing issue. The mass relays have been damaged. I've already got several crews working on the Sol relay and estimates put the repairs at 2

weeks. Nothing major, but we don't know where that relay will jump to with the others possibly offline." He said. "I just want you to worry about getting the

Commander to the hospital and then him being out again. Is there anything else Williams?" He asked. "No Sir. That was it." Ashley said. With that, Hackett

disappeared and Ash took a few steps away. "We're coming into Seattle now Ash. Might as well get Shepard up to the airlock." Joker said over the intercom.

Shepard was just walking out of the med-bay, very slowly, when Ashley reached him. "What did Hackett say?" He asked. "You'll be a moral boost to all the races that

are stuck on Earth for now. The relays were damaged in the firing of the Crucible, but he's got teams working on them right now. He said for you not to worry about it."

She said. She put her arm through his not broken one and they started towards the airlock. They walked through the CIC, with the crew smiling at him, saluting, and

nodding all the way to Joker, who was standing beside the airlock. "Well Commander, you're back. And it's good to have you back." He said as the airlock opened and

sunlight streamed into the ship. All over the Earth, omni-tools, news TV's, and holopapers lit up all repeating the same message. "This is Admiral Hackett. I've just been

informed that Commander Shepard has been found alive, and is okay. He's just arrived back on the planet for medical observation." Crowds of people gathered and

started cheering wildly, among them were most of the old squad who were on Earth to battle with the reapers. In Washington D.C. Oriana ran into her sister's room.

"Miranda! Have you heard the news?" She shouted with excitement. "No, I haven't. What's all the noise about?" Miranda asked. "Your boyfriend, Commander

Shepard, has been found alive and is back here! He's in Seattle for medical observation." Miranda stopped typing and let her fingers hover for a moment. She and

Shepard became very close when they had to fight the Collectors. Once they got back to Earth, he was put under Alliance guard and nobody was allowed to see him.

They got back together on the citadel several times. He had helped save Oriana on two accounts from her now dead father, Henry Lawson. "Ori, we're going on a trip

to Seattle. Pack essentials and lets catch a shuttle there." Miranda said with a smile. Oriana understood and left to go pack. Roughly fifteen minutes later, they were

on their way to the transport hub to catch a ship to Seattle. Miranda was almost too happy to go.


	3. Visiting Hours at the Hospital

"Would you like anything more Commander?" The nurse asked. "No thank you. I'm fine for now." Shepard said with a grin on his face. The nurse nodded, gave him a

flashy smile, and left the room. A doctor walked in right after she left. "Good morning Commander. I'm . Doctor Michael Jones. How are we feeling right now?" He asked.

"I'm fine doctor. I just checked in. How long will I be stuck here for? A week? A few days? When can I get out?" Shepard asked. "That depends on how you're implants

are doing and how your physical and mental conditions are. If everything is tip-top, you can be out of here in about 4 days." Jones said. "Fine. At least let my crew in to

visit." Shepard said with a grumble. The doctor nodded and headed out. A moment later, Ash came in leading EDI, Joker, Cortez, James, Garrus, Javik, Liara, Tali,

Traynor, and the engineering crew as they all piled into the hospital room. Shepard had specifically requested a large room because he knew there were going to be

many, many visitors. A few moments later, the bedside tables were covered in cards, flowers, booze and a couple of small stuffed toys. "Gee guys, I'm only gonna be

here for a little while. Why are you bringing me all this stuff?" Shepard said. "In my cycle, it was customary to reward hero's and make them as comfortable as

possible." Javik said. "Plus, we don't want you to get bored. You won't have anything to shoot while you're in here." Garrus said. "Thanks guys. This means a lot.

Whenever I get out of here. I'll be spending some time with everyone doing what they want to do. We don't have a war to fight anymore, we can relax a little bit."

Shepard said. After about two hours of telling stories and having a blast, people started to leave. Soon enough there were just the originals. Ashley and Garrus stayed

later. They had gotten to the hospital at around 7am and it was 10am now. Finally, Ash and Garrus had to leave to go back to the Normandy. "Come visit again before

I go stir crazy." Shepard shouted as they were leaving. "We will, we will." Garrus said with a flick of his hand.

"Final stop, Seattle, everybody out." The pilot shouted as they docked at the transport hub. Everyone in the shuttle filed out and groaned from the bright sunlight.

"Come on Miranda, I want to meet the Commander." Oriana shouted. "She's still got some child in her. It's good to see." Miranda thought. " Relax Ori, we need to grab

him a gift first. It would be rude to show up without anything." She said. Oriana nodded and they headed to the Kassa Fabrication outlet on the hub. "Shepard's into

model ships. We should pick him up one so he's got something to do while he's in the hospital." Miranda said as they started looking on the shelves. It took a little

looking and asking employees, but they found a model of the Collector Ship. Walking out with their purchase, they caught a taxi to the hospital. It was amazing there

were any taxi's around. They got out in front of the hospital and walked in. "Excuse me, but what room is Commander Shepard in?" Miranda asked with usual

pleasantness. "Sorry lady, the Commander isn't taking any press." Said a surly man behind the reception desk. "Do I look like press? No. So if you'll kindly tell me what

room he's in, I'll leave you alone." She said to the annoyed clerk. She began to get the biotic shade of blue forming around as she gathered dark energy and prepared

to unleash it. Just before the clerk opened his mouth to tell her off again, there was a shout behind her. "Miranda! It's Garrus!" She wheeled around and saw Garrus

with most of the other crew behind her. "Garrus! EDI! Joker! It's so good to see all of you!" She said with a dashing smile. Instantly, the blue hue faded away as the

energy dissipated. "If you're looking for Shepard, he's in room 362." Garrus said. "Thanks Garrus. I can't seem to get anywhere with this guy." She said with a jerk of

her head in the direction of the clerk. "Wait...you know them? The crew of the Normandy?" The clerk asked with a shocked look on his face. "Of course I do nitwit. I was

with Shepard when he defeated the Collectors. I'm Miranda Lawson." She said. The shock on his face turned to a look of true apology. "I'm very sorry Ma'am. Would

you like me to buzz up to the Commanders room and tell him you're coming?" He said. "No. I want it to be a surprise." Miranda said as she and Oriana walked to the

elevators. "Commander Shepard, you have two guests. Should I send them in?" The nurse asked. " More visitors. Who else could it be?" Shepard thought. "Send them

in please." Shepard said. The nurse left and immediately after, Oriana Lawson ran into the room. "Commander Shepard, how good to see you again, in much more

pleasant circumstances too ." Oriana said as she gave him a hug. Shepard thought back. The last time he had seen Oriana was on Horizon after rescuing her with

Miranda from a facility overrun by reaper forces. "Yes. It's good to see you too." Shepard said with a smile. The two started talking and hardly even noticed when the

door opened again. "I see that you two are having fun." Miranda said as she leaned on the doorway. Oriana and Shepard stopped and looked at her, looked at each

other, and started laughing. "Good to see your humor isn't as broken as your arm is." She said as she walked in. "We picked you up a little get well present, but

looking at your tables, you probably don't need it." She said as she gave it to him. Opening it, he found the model Collector ship. "You really didn't need to get me

anything." Shepard said as he put it on the table. "Well, I helped to pick it out." Oriana said with a smile. "Well, thanks. To both of you. I owe a lot to you two. Firstly,

my life. Secondly, I'm not sure about what goes there." Shepard said with a chuckle. "Oriana, can you go to the cafe downstairs and grab some tea or coffee?" Miranda

asked. Oriana complied and left. "Don't expect me to do anything. Doctor Jones has got me on a tight leash. He won't even let me get up until tomorrow." Shepard said

in a cautionary tone. Miranda laughed at him. "I wasn't going to do anything either. Anything except this." She said as she leaned over to kiss him. "I guess we're still

together then, if I'm reading that right." Shepard said after a few seconds. "Oh you're reading it right." Miranda said with a sly grin. "We were in Washington when we

got the message that you were still alive and being put in here. Hackett called me personally to tell me, mostly because I'm not Cerberus, I'm Alliance now." She said

as she sat beside him on the bed. Oriana came back in with three cups of tea, all steeped, and all with milk and sugar. "Might as well pull up a chair Oriana, the three

of us have a lot to talk about." Shepard said as he took a sip of his tea.


	4. The Lawson Visit

"Commander Shepard, visiting hours are over. It's time for your guests to leave." The nurse said as she poked her head in the door. "Oh come on. It's only 9pm."

Shepard actually said in a wining tone to her. "This is a large room. I don't see any trouble in them staying here. It's not like we'll disturb anyone." He said. The Lawson

sisters had been there for almost 12 hours and all of it had been recounting tales and telling stories. Most of them were his, but Miranda shared quite a few as well.

"I'll need to check with the doctor on duty if it's alright." The nurse said. "Just tell him that Commander Shepard wants them to stay." He said. "Now where was I in my

story...?" "You were at the part where you were on the ground with a Reaper Destroyer on Rannoch! I bet that was scary." Oriana chimed in. "Ah yes. Thank you.

Anyways, I had some sort of laser guidance system that all the ships in the Quarian flotilla was patched into. I had also found out that the priming chamber, where the

beam comes out was a weak point. So there I was, dodging the beam from the Reaper, while having to aim this bulky targeting matrix at it, and" Shepard was cut off

by the doctor entering the room. "Commander Shepard, I express my deep disapproval of having guests in your room all night. You need rest." He said. "I don't need

rest doctor. I feel fine and I know I'm fine. Now, please leave, and don't come back until tomorrow." Shepard said in an annoyed tone. The doctor gave a sour look

towards Shepard, but left anyways. "Now, back to the story. As I was about to say before we were interrupted, after about four or five hits from the Quarian fleet, the

reaper fell to the ground and then I had to talk to it. Might sound weird, but it talked to me too." Shepard said with a laugh. "Interesting. Very interesting." Oriana and

Miranda said in unison. "Although, the inside of a reaper is way creepier than anywhere I've ever been. Even to the Horizon lab. Ask your sister, she came with me into

a derelict reaper to get an Identify Friend/Foe device, or IFF as we call it." He said with approval. "Did you really go into a reaper? That seems mighty reckless." Oriana

said looking at Miranda. "I had to go. I was chosen for that mission. I was chosen for most of the missions due to my biotic ability." Miranda said. "Surrrre. That's what

it was." Oriana said with a roll of her eyes. Stories continued until 1am when it was decided that everyone would go to sleep. Oriana had taken the two chairs in the

room and had laid down on them, and was fast asleep in a few moments. Miranda stood at the cracked window looking out over the black city. The only lights were

workman's lamps for removal of debris. Shepard propped himself up in bed. "What's wrong? Can't sleep?" He said in a lazy, tired voice. "I'm just not tired. I'm busy

looking at all this destruction." Miranda said without turning to look. Shepard got up, careful not to hit anything and hurt himself, and he put on a robe over his N7

shorts. "Well, we'll recover. We did after Saren and his geth, and we did after the Collectors. We can do it one more time." Shepard said as he tied the robe with one

hand. He wandered over and put his arm around her. "I'm thinking about retiring from the Alliance, or asking for a desk job." He said after a moment. "What's wrong?

The great Commander Shepard has lost his edge in the fight now?" Miranda said to him. "It's not that, it just seems to be a hazardous job, y'know with me dying once

and almost dying about 30 more times after that." He said. "If they promote me to Captain, they'll probably give me a desk job anyways, so I might as well get a good

desk while I can." He said with a quiet chuckle. " I couldn't see you ever stuck working behind a desk." Miranda said looking at him. "No? Well then, looks like I'm stuck

on a ship for the rest of my career." He said in mock disappointment. "Anyways, you should get some sleep." He said in a more serious tone. "All right. I guess I'll just

take this nice bed right here." She said gesturing to his bed. "That works for me. It's a king size anyways, just take the right side. I don't want you to whack my broken

arm during the night." He said as he walked over and hung up his robe. He climbed under the sheets and she got in the other side. "Comfortable?" Shepard asked.

"Almost. It just needs one more thing." Miranda said as she lifted his head and put her arm around him. "Perfect." She said. Shepard gave her a grin and drifted off to

sleep.

At the Sheridan Hotel one block away from the hospital there were still a few lights on in the rooms. Mostly candles that scattered shadows on the walls. All that

were still lit belonged to members of the Normandy's crew. Traynor was up looking at an old photo album, Garrus was cleaning and calibrating his sniper rifle, James

was doing push-ups, and Ash was reading poetry on her bed. There was a knock at her door. Startled for a second, she called "Come in. It's open." The door opened

and Tali walked into the room. "oh. Hey Tali. What's up?" Ash said as she marked her place and put her book away. "Oh, nothing. Is there anything wrong? You're

usually not up this late." Tali said as she sat down. "No. There isn't anything wrong." Ash said after a moment of hesitation. Tali continued to stare at her (as best as a

Quarian could behind the mask). "Ash, there must be something bugging you. Just tell me." Tali said in a reassuring voice. "Okay Tali, but you can't tell anyone what I'm

saying." Ash said. Tali nodded and gave her a 'go ahead' gesture. Ash took a deep breath, and asked "Do you think Shepard is going to be with Miranda for a long

time?" Tali thought for a moment "Well, it really depends on how much they love each other. You're not jealous of Miranda are you?" Tali asked back. "Yea. I guess I

kind of am." Ash said with a half smile. "I knew Shepard long before she did. Seniority has to count for something." Ash said. "Yes, and let's not forget the time that

you almost shot him on the citadel, and accused him of still being with Cerberus." Tali shot back. "Look, you can't really change the way that it's going, if you try, it'll

probably end badly for you." "I can still tell Shepard how I feel. When he gets out of the hospital and spends individual time with each of us. Thanks Tali." Ash said. "I'm

gonna go to sleep now. I'll be visiting Shepard at around 10am today. Alone."

Shepard woke up and wondered where he was for a split second. Turning his head to the left, he just saw a mass of black in front of him. He slowly remembered

that he was in a hospital and that the black belonged to Miranda's hair. Moving slowly and cautiously, he went to the other side of the room, opened the bathroom

door and stepped into the shower. It felt good to let the water just pour over his body and release tension in his muscles. He stepped out after about ten minutes and

grabbed a towel from the rack. He threw on his jeans and an old Alliance T-shirt that he brought into the bathroom with him, so he didn't need to dress in front of

Oriana. He continued to dry his head as he walked out of the bathroom. Miranda was awake, as was Oriana. "Morning you two. Sleep well?" He asked with a smile. "I

slept absolutely wonderfully. How about you Ori?" Miranda said casting a smile his way. "I slept rather well." Oriana said. "Now if you're done with the shower, I'll take

my turn." She said as she walked past him. "Towels are in the cupboard to the left." Shepard said as she closed the door. "She'll be in there for about 45 minutes.

Let's go to the cafe to get some breakfast." Miranda said as she opened the door. They walked down the hallway, arm in arm and took the stairs down rather than the

elevator. They grabbed a couple of bagels and some coffee and sat at a table with a window view. "It's not much to look at, but soon it will be." Shepard said

gesturing to the street. "I'm sure it will be, and with you helping Hackett with the relays, we can get these people back to their own worlds." Miranda said pointing at

some of the Turians and Krogans walking through the street. "I'll be glad to call this planet home again. No more living on just ships and stations." Shepard said as he

bit into his bagel, dripping butter on his plate. Miranda nodded and started to eat. After about half an hour, they headed back up to Shepard's room the same way that

they had come. was waiting there for him. "Shepard! Why weren't you here when we came to wake you up? We have many tests to run!" He said in apparent anger.

"Doctor, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need your tests. I'm staying in here one more day, and then I'm checking out. That's final." Shepard said. Jones walked out with his

face turning red. "I think you made him upset." Oriana said as she walked out of the bathroom. "My turn for the shower. Have fun you two." Miranda said as she glided

past her sister into the washroom. "Commander, can you tell me another story?" Oriana asked as she sat down in a chair. "Sure. How about the one when I needed to

save a Salarian Councilor from a trained Cerberus assassin." He said as he sat down across from her. She nodded eagerly and waited. "Well, it started when Cerberus

had taken control of the Citadel..." His voice trailed off as Oriana continued to sit there and listen intently.


	5. Alone in the room

Ash stepped out into the sunlight of the new day. "Ahhh. So nice to be out. Fresh air and a clean(er) city." She said as she started towards the hospital that

Shepard was in. She went into the hospital and walked up to the receptionist. "I'm here to visit Commander Shepard. Could you let him know I'm coming up?" She

asked. "Sure. He's in X-Ray right now, but I'm sure he won't mind if you just go in and wait." The man behind the desk said. She said a polite thank you, and took the

elevator up to Shepard's room. She walked in, and saw a neat sight. Everything was folded properly, nothing was out of place, and all the gifts were still on the tables,

so that means they didn't change his room. About ten minutes later, Shepard walked in. He stopped mid-entrance because he was talking with someone else in the

hallway, he laughed at their joke and walked into the room. "Ash! Good to see you. Thanks for coming by." Shepard said when the door closed and he turned around.

"Good to see you too Shepard. I see they took your sling off." Ash said with a concerned tone. "Yea. My arm is almost healed now, thanks to all the implants Cerberus

shoved in me." He said in a relaxed demeanor. "So, when do you think they'll let you out?" She asked him. "They'll let me out tomorrow because that's when I said I'm

leaving. I know I'm fine, and that's all I need to know." He said. There was a relieved look on her face. "Glad to see you haven't lost your power of authority. I saw

Miranda and her sister here yesterday while we were leaving. How have they been?" She asked. "You can ask them yourself. They'll be back in about two hours. They

went to explore Seattle." He replied in a casual manner. Ash put on a sad face inside, but she didn't let it show through. "There's a park across the street. Do you want

to go for a walk?" He asked her. "Sure. Fresh air would be good for both of us." She said. Shepard still had his jeans and T-shirt on and Ash had about the same thing

on. They walked for awhile, just throwing around small talk. It was about noon when they got back to the hospital. "Well we killed an hour and a half with just walking

around the park. It was nice." Shepard said with a smile. They went upstairs to his room and looked out the window at the city rebuilding.

"Alright Ori, I think we've spent enough time looking around the city." Miranda said as they walked through the park. "Time to go back and see Commander

Shepard." She said. "You really do like him, don't you?" Oriana asked. "Well, considering I put him back together again, and what we've been through, yes. I do like

him a lot." Miranda said with a half smile. "I don't think I'll stay that long. I think I'll check into that hotel down the block." Oriana said pointing in the direction of the

Sheridan Hotel. "That's fine. Just don't play any symphonies too loudly." Miranda said with a laugh. They walked into Shepard's room just as he was finishing his

exercises. "Visitors galore!" He said with his arms outstretched. "First Ashley and then you two. I'm a pretty lucky person to have all this." He said sweeping his arm

around the room. "I see the regenerative implants are still doing their work." Miranda said with approval. Oriana looked at her confused. Shepard saw the confusion

and stepped in to elaborate. "Your sister rebuilt me when I died. Cerberus put tons of implants in me. Some biotic, some strength, some regenerative. Those ones

speed healing." He said. "Ah. So your arm isn't broken anymore?" She asked. "Nope. It's back to 100%...well 95%, but getting closer to 100% every minute." He said

with a wink. After half an hour, Oriana left. "Well, we're alone now." Miranda said as she looked at him. "Yea. The last time we were, was in your room on the citadel.

That was good. Except for where I found out you wanted to implant me with a control chip, but after that it was good." Shepard said with a sly grin. "Oh. That was

probably the highlight of that day." She said with a cocked eyebrow. "Like you wouldn't believe." Shepard said looking in his closet for his suit. He came out with a tie

and a quizzical look from Miranda. "So we're not disturbed." He said placing it on the doorknob of the room and closing the door. She understood in a heartbeat and

put on a mischievous grin. "The first run for us was in the engine room on the Normandy. I didn't want your lousy bed, but I guess it will have to do this time." She

said. "I remember that. EDI was probably looking at us through a camera wondering what the hell we were doing." He said with a laugh as he took off his shirt. "Don't

even talk like that." Miranda said in good humor as she took off her boots. "Well, there's no way she can watch us in here." Shepard said as he dropped his pants on

the floor. "You better be right." Miranda said with mock caution as she unzipped her top. "I think you're happy to see me dressed like this." She said indicating to the

bulge in his shorts. "Ohh. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get you in bed again." Shepard said. By this time, both had stripped down to their bare

necessities, what Shepard was given, and what Miranda was created with. They stood in the room embracing and kissing, for about five minutes before going to the

bed. "You have protection?" She asked. "Yea. In the drawer on the left." He said fixing the covers. She pulled out the condom and opened it. She fumbled for a

moment, and then put it on him. "Are you ready to have a little fun?" He said when she reappeared beside him. "I'm going to have a lot more than just a little fun." She

said locking lips with him. He rolled on top of her and began to thrust. "Keep that motion. It's amazing." She said starting to sweat a little. "No problem." Shepard said

as he kept moving. Their bodies were joined as one at the pelvis and here was moaning involved. "Is that a reaper I hear?" Shepard said as he continued. "No you

fool. You just feel really good inside me." Miranda whispered in his ear. They continued at this motion for another fifteen minutes when she sensed the climax was

coming. "Ah. The best part." She said as she prepared herself. "You're not the only one getting ready." Shepard said breathlessly as his thrusts became harder. They

both hit their climax at the same time and let out a well earned sigh of pleasure. He slumped on top of her, both of them breathless and sweaty. "We're going to need

to do that again very soon." He said as he caught his breath. She ran her hands all over his body, tracing the scars on his back. "Very, very soon. We can't leave it that

long again." She said with a smile. "Put your legs around me. We both need to get into the washroom and clean up." She obliged and wrapped her arms and legs

around his body. Shepard got up off the bed, still as strong as ever, and walked over to the bathroom. "Last stop. Everybody out. Don't forget to tip your driver." He

said as he got to the sink. She took her legs off him and put her feet on the floor. She kissed him passionately. "There. One tip for the driver." She said in a sexy tone.

"Wow. You really messed up my hair. She said as she turned her attention to the mirror over the sink. "You were as much at fault as I was in that." He said turning on

the bath. She spent five minutes fixing her hair and getting it all back into place again. "I'll come back in when I'm fully dressed." She said as she was walking out. "I'll

be waiting for that." Shepard said as he slid into the bath, letting the hot water flow over his body. "Can you also take the tie off the door and put it with my suit?" He

shouted a moment later as he remembered. Another minute passed and an arm clad in black skintight clothing showed through the door. "Perfect. Thanks!" He said

back. Miranda walked back about to open the closet, but there was a knock at the door. She went over to the chair, put the tie down, sat on it, and said "Come in" to

whoever was on the other side.


	6. Orders from Admiral Hackett

Admiral Hackett walked into the hospital in Seattle that Shepard was at. "What room is Commander Shepard in?" He asked the receptionist. "Room 362 Admiral."

The woman answered back. Hackett said thank you and turned away with two uniformed Alliance brass in tow. One was a Major, and the other was a Rear Admiral.

They made their way to Shepard's room. They knocked on the door, and a woman's voice said, "Come in." They walked in and saw Miranda in a chair. "Admiral Hackett.

What a nice surprise. Commander Shepard is in the bath. He'll be out in a few moments. What can I do for you?" She asked. " this is Major Hauk and Rear Admiral

're here to see the Commander and only the Commander. I'm sorry we can't tell you, but nobody can know of this." Hackett said. She gave a nod of

acknowledgement and stepped out of the room. About five minutes after she left, Shepard walked out of the bathroom rubbing water from his hair. "Admiral Hackett.

Sorry I wasn't here to greet you Sir." Shepard said standing at attention. "Stand easy Commander. This is more of an informal situation, but we wanted to tell you

something. You'll be receiving the Medal of Heroism as well as a promotion to Captain at a ceremony in Washington D.C. You cannot tell your crew about this. Not

anyone." Hackett said in a serious tone. "Well Sir, thank you for this honor. I'm out of this place tomorrow, so can we have this ceremony in about three days?"

Shepard asked with hopefulness. "Yes Commander. We were wondering when you would be out. 3 days is fine. We'll see you in Washington then." Hackett said. With

a nod, he left and Miranda came back in. Shepard, the practical joker he was, pretended to look sullen. He let out a large sigh when she walked into the room. "Oh

come now, it couldn't have been that bad." She said. "It was." He said in a tone matching a low F#. "Sure. I did a quick background check on those guys with Hackett.

They're from the promotions and commendations bureau. You can't fool me." She said in a sly voice. "Okay, okay, you caught me." Shepard said with a sheepish grin.

"But, I can't tell you what's going on. Just that when I get out of here tomorrow, you and Oriana are coming on the Normandy for a little bit. Too bad Liara took over

your old XO office. You'll need to sleep in the hold." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "The hell I will. You've got a big bed. You're gonna share." She said with a

laugh. "I'll call Ashley and have her inform the crew of the plans. You'll be woken up bright and early tomorrow. We've got places to go." He said as he turned to the

phone.

A sharp ringing disturbed Ashley's concentration as she was writing a list of ideas for her time with Shepard. She picked up the phone. "Hello? Shepard, hi!

Have the crew at the Normandy for 0800? Sure. Not a problem." She said and then hung up. She went around to all the rooms telling everyone that they would be on

the Normandy at 8am. Most were pleased, but James wasn't happy. "Why do we need to leave. I was just getting used to life on shore again." He said. "Not my choice

pal. Suck it up and be ready to go." She said as she walked out. She went back to her room to continue her list. Oriana was in the same hotel and got a call from

Miranda. "Okay. I'll come to the hospital and wait for you guys at around 7:30. Thanks for telling me. Where are we going anyways? Oh. Big secret. Alright. Bye." She

said as she hung up the phone. Oriana wondered what was going on and where they would be going. She was doubtful of another planet, but she couldn't help

wondering.

"Alright. Ash knows, and she'll tell the crew." Shepard said with a yawn. Looking at his bedside clock, it was 10:30pm. He would need to be up in 7 hours to

take a shower and leave. "Ori knows too." Miranda said as her omni-tool flipped back in. "We should really get to sleep. We need to be up at 5:30am." She said.

Looking at Shepard's face, she said "Yes. I still know your morning schedule." Shepard shook off the look and changed into his N7 shorts that he wore to bed. Miranda

came out of the bathroom wearing a set of Alliance pajamas. "You know you can change in-front of me." Shepard said in a tired voice. "I know, but I don't want to

clean up all the drool off the floor." She said with a flick of her wrist. Getting into bed, she put her arms around him. "Are you sure you can't tell me where we're going,

and what's going on?" She asked. "I'm positive. Hackett told me I couldn't tell anyone. Even you." He said. "Darn. Here I thought you'd be easy to crack." She said

giving him a kiss. "Goodnight." He said flipping off his bedside light. "Goodnight" Was the response back. Shepard knew it was going to be a good night. And a good

week for that matter, as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Checking Out

"Uggggghh." Shepard groaned as he rolled over to shut off the alarm clock assaulting his ears and waking him from his sleep. Miranda had rolled out of bed and

was making for the bathroom. "Do you want the tub or the shower?" Shepard called as she was about to open the door. "I'll take the tub, you can have the shower."

She said over her shoulder as she walked in. Shepard dragged himself to the bathroom with his eyes partially closed. He walked over to the shower and turned it on

to let the water heat up. Miranda was doing the same thing with her bath. Shepard got into the shower and started to wash all the hospital feeling off him. He was

getting out today, whether wanted him to leave, or not. They were both out of the bathroom by 6am and the sun was just starting to come up. "Look at it. It's a

breathtaking sight." Shepard said as he did up the buttons on his Alliance uniform shirt. "It absolutely is. Too bad we need to leave." Miranda said as she put on her

top. Shepard put his tunic on, still with his commander epaulets in place, and did it up. Both had their stuff packed up by 6:30, Shepard had more than Miranda did.

"We still have an hour before Oriana gets here." Miranda said. "Let's go enjoy a nice, long breakfast in the cafe." Shepard responded with. They both headed out of his

room and went to the bank of elevators. After a short trip down they strolled into the cafe for some coffee and food.

Ashley was already up by this time and was getting everyone in order and ready to go. They were holding a small meeting in the conference room of the hotel that

the manager had let them use. "Alright guys. I don't know where we're going. I was just told to get us to the ship for 8am. We'll get there at 7:30 so we can power up

the engines and so that EDI can do some system checks. Any questions?" Ash asked the group. "Um, yes I have one. What's going to happen to us all now that the

war is over?" Garrus asked. "That, I have no idea about Garrus. Now, anymore questions?" Ashley asked. There were none so the group departed the hotel and

walked the five blocks to the terminal that the Normandy was docked at. Shepard hadn't arrived yet, but that was of no matter. It was only 7:30. He would be there

for 8, on time, as always.

"That was the best breakfast I've had in a long time." Shepard said as he signed the hospital discharge papers. "Commander Shepard! Commander Shepard!

Wait!" came running up to him. "Stuff it Doc, I'm leaving." Shepard said as he signed the final spot on the paperwork and handed it to the attendant. "I'm well

aware of that. You just forgot these cards that I picked up in your mailbox outside your room." Jones said handing him the cards. Shepard looked at them. They were

all written in crayons. "Some of the kids heard that you were here and they made you get well soon cards. You're quite a hero." Jones said with some admiration.

"Well..." Shepard said looking at his watch. It was only 7:15. "I guess I could go and visit the kids for a little bit. Do you want to come?" Shepard asked Miranda. "Sure.

I think it'll be nice." She said. "Alright doctor, lead the way." Shepard said. They followed Jones up two flights of stairs and into the children's ward. "The kids that made

the cards are all in this room." Jones said as he stopped beside the door. Shepard went in and was greeted with a couple of gasps. One of the kids murmured

"Commander Shepard." Then they all started to talk. "Hi kids. I got your cards this morning and I'm about to leave, but I thought I'd stop up here to thank you all for

making them for me before I go." Shepard said as he started to walk to a bed. "You don't need to go to war again, do you?" One of them asked. "No, I'm still on Earth

for now. I get to take some time off." Shepard said as he took one of their hands. "Commander, who is that woman with you?" A kid in the far bed asked. "Well, she's

a very good friend of mine. I went through a lot of adventures with her, and now, we're going to hang around together." He said, hoping the kid wouldn't pry further

than that. He spent fifteen minutes with the kids when Miranda got his attention. "Shepard, we need to go." She said tapping her wrist where his watch was. "Well

kids, I need to go back to my ship, but I've got something for each of you." He said as he opened a shopping bag that he had. Shepard went along the rows and gave

them all replicas of the Normandy SR-2. They all looked at him and beamed with pleasure. "Thanks Commander!" They said as he walked out. "Thanks Jones. That was

nice." Shepard said as he shook his hand. "My pleasure Commander." Jones said with a smile on his face.

Shepard and Miranda walked out of the hospital. "Mmmm. Fresh air. Finally." Shepard said as soon as they got outside. "Miranda! Commander!" Was a shout from

the left. "Oriana! Glad you could make it." Shepard said. "I wouldn't miss coming along with you." Oriana said as they started to walk to the terminal that was four

blocks away. They had gotten there in no time at all. "Well, there my ship is. Are you ready to go on?" Shepard said. Oriana nodded as she went off ahead of them into

the airlock. "Everything is still in the same place. Nothing has changed." Shepard said to Miranda as they walked aboard. "Good. That means the engine room will be

the place to meet when we leave." Miranda said with a wink and went into the ship. Shepard caught on and walked into the Normandy.


	8. On the Normandy

"This ship is amazing!" Oriana said as she did a round through the CIC and came onto the bridge where Shepard and Miranda were. "Yea, I love this ship. Everyone

here does. I don't think anybody would change a thing about it." Shepard said. "You got that right. If anyone did, I'd break off my arm and hit them with it." Joker said

and received laughs in return. He spun to his console and started the take off procedures. "Alliance Control, this is SSV Normandy requesting departure." He said. "SSV

Normandy, you're clear to depart. Have a good day." The response from the controller came. The ship backed out of the dock and turned towards the east. Joker

brought them up to 40,000ft cruising altitude. "Might as well not go too fast Joker, we're only going to Washington D.C." Shepard said as he was leaving the bridge.

"Roger that Commander. One trip to Washington, the scenic route." He said as he leaned back in his chair. Shepard was on his way off the bridge when he was

stopped by Ashley standing beside the airlock. "Shepard, can we talk? I have a few things to ask you." She said. "Sure. Come up to my cabin and we can talk about

whatever it is there." He said as they started to walk to the elevator at the back of the CIC. A moment later, they were walking back out and through the door to his

cabin. "Grab a seat and we can talk." Shepard said as he sat on the couch that was there. Ashley sat on the other end, and took a deep breath "Shepard, what's

going to happen with the team now that the war is over? Are they going to split us up again?" She asked. "Hell no. Not if I have anything to say about it. You guys are

my crew. We've been through too much to just be scattered around the Alliance like a set of kids just out of basic. I'll fight it tooth and nail if Hackett tries to do it."

Shepard responded with. This relieved Ash and she relaxed. "Also, why are we going to Washington? What's so important there?" She asked him. "Well...I'm not at

liberty to say. It's strictly confidential between some of the top brass and I." Shepard said wincing a bit. These answers satisfied her and she began to leave. "If

you've got anymore questions, just come up and ask me." He said. Ashley nodded. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she couldn't do it with other people

listening like EDI and maybe Miranda. She just walked out and took the elevator down to the crew deck to sit in starboard observation.

"Shepard, did I hear you mention something to Joker about going to Washington?" Miranda asked as soon as she walked into his cabin. "Well, that's where we're

going. Why?" He asked back. "Considering that I live in Washington now, it was just a question." She said stopping beside his desk. Shepard was working away on his

e-mails. "Man, you're out of commission for four days, and then the e-mails just pile up." He said sighing. "What've you got?" She asked as she sat on his lap. "Well,

I've got one from Emily Wong, requesting an interview, one from Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani also requesting an interview. Drag that to the recycle bin. There's one from

each of the council members expressing thanks, one from Primarch Victus also expressing thanks. It's mostly just thank you notes from everyone." He said as he put

his arms around her. "Well, there's one that's more personal in there. Just sift through them all and you'll find it." She said getting up and helping herself to the bottle

of wine on his table. He looked at her quizzically, shrugged his shoulders, and started to look through every e-mail. At last he found it, right at the bottom of the list. It

was sent the day he launched the assault on the Conduit. Well, there were a few from that day. One from the Illusive Man, telling him control was the only option.

Oddly enough, one was from Harbinger. It stumped him how a reaper had gotten his e-mail, but he read it anyways. Basically it said that there was no way he could

defeat them and blah blah blah. Shepard smirked as the dropped that one into the recycle bin. The only other one came from someone he knew, and knew very

well..."Why did you send me an e-mail? How did you know I'd come back alive?" Shepard asked Miranda, who was looking at his original N7 helmet on his desk. "You'll

just need to read it and find out yourself." She said. Shepard said "fine" and sat back down to read it.


	9. Unforseen Messages

"Ugh. I'm bored." Joker said as they kept on the way to Washington. "What do we even need to go to Washington for? Can't we just go somewhere else...like

Mars?" "Jeff, do you remember the last time we went to Mars? It wasn't pleasant." EDI said. "Well, you got a body out of the deal." He said. "Yes, and Williams was

almost killed." EDI shot back. "Yea...that would put a damper on things. We've still got another hour until we dock though. What are we supposed to do until then?"

Joker said. "I'm not sure Jeff. What would you like to do?" EDI responded with. "I would like to do a lot of things, but the question is, what can we do?" Joker said with

a sigh. They continued to fly in silence and just observe the Earth below.

Shepard had read the e-mail sent by Miranda on the day he charged the Conduit. He continued to sit in silence for a long time. "Did you finish it?" Miranda asked

him. "Yea. I did. I'm still kind of letting the shock wear off. I guessed that you were going to do something like this, but I didn't know when you would. You picked a

great time to do it though. She laughed as she came over and sat on his lap with a glass of wine. The letter had read, "Dear Shepard. I know today is the final day of

the battle. You told me that when you contacted me from London. I know you'll be coming back. Nothing will keep you down. Not a few reaper troops, not even

Harbinger landing on you. I just wanted to tell you that I've thought a lot about the relationship we've shared. Back when you were with Cerberus and I had put you

back together, all the way up to the wonderful time we spent on the Citadel together. I just wanted to let you know, that I want to go further than we already are. We

aren't just shipmates, not the regular relationship type, but I still want to push my luck and spend a lot more time with you. Most of the life we have left as a matter of

fact. Don't worry, you'll see this when you get back, and we'll debate it then. Yours truly: Miranda." She kissed him and he gave a welcome smile back. "You know I

don't smile often, but when I do, it's mostly because of you. Other than that, it's usually Joker." He said to her as he stole some of her wine. "So, what do you think

about it?" She asked him. "Well, the way I see it, that's a marriage proposal if I ever saw one." He said. "You're correct. I knew you'd catch on fast." She said getting

up. "Then I really only have one answer for that." He said, letting it pause for dramatic effect. She turned around and watched him for an answer. " I guess we're

getting married." He said as he stood up and turned off his e-mail. She shouted, jumped, and hugged him at the same time. "This is the best day I've had in a long

time." She said starting to tear up. "I think it's one of my better days too." Shepard said. "Let's plan this wedding for while we're in Washington. I don't know what will

happen later." He said. She nodded and left his room still smiling as happy as ever. Shepard looked at his models and said to himself "I better go get a tux then, and I

better get a best man."

Miranda had gone down to the crew deck and into port observation where Oriana had set up for the trip. She was sitting on one of the couches with a symphony

playing on the intercom. "Sounds like the Beethoven's fifth to me." She said as she walked in. "Correct. Whoa. What's going on? You've been crying. Is something

wrong?" Oriana said immediately concerned. "Nothing is wrong. Quite the opposite." Miranda said as she sat down. Oriana looked at her and hiked an eyebrow.

Seeing this, Miranda explained "Commander Shepard has agreed to marry me. We'll be having the wedding in Washington." "You're kidding aren't you...? No. You're

not. That's great! I'm so happy for you both. How did he stand on this?" Oriana asked. "He was about as happy or happier than I was. I had sent him and e-mail, and

he got the hint." Miranda said. Oriana was beaming with pleasure and there was nothing that could happen to ruin the mood.


	10. Washington

"Alliance Control, this is SSV Normandy requesting clearance to land at Washington Spaceport" Joker said to the controller.

"Normandy, you are cleared to land" the response came.

Joker brought the ship into the terminal and set it down gently. "Commander, we've landed in Washington. There's a big crowd out here, and they all want to see you" he said as he looked out the view port.

Shepard was in his cabin watching his fish. "Thanks Joker, I'll be right out" he said as he left his cabin and took the elevator to the CIC.

Everyone was in the CIC when Shepard got there. "Ash, looks like we're going off this ship together first" he said looking at her.

"Yea. I bet everyone will like that" she said back to him.

The airlock opened and immediately all you could hear was the cheering of the crowd. Shepard and Ashley walked outside and looked at the sheer number of people who had shown up just to welcome him. Admiral Hackett was the first one on the gangplank.

"Glad you could make it Commander" he said with a wink.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything" Shepard said as he shook Admiral Hackett's hand.

"All these people have come to pay their respects to you for defeating the Reapers and for coming back alive" Hackett said.

"Well then, I should give them a little speech" Shepard said. Turning around on the walkway and facing the crowd, someone put a microphone in-front of him. "Ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you for coming here for me. This wasn't a solo act. We each played our own part in defeating the Reapers before they consumed us all. There were the Admirals, moving fleets and ordering attacks, but there were also the Privates, carrying out the orders, fighting on the front lines, dying for freedom and hope. We have each of them to thank for being here today." Shepard took a step back from the microphone and relaxed.

"Well put Commander, that's why you're receiving the promotion to Captain, and you'll also be receiving the Medal of Heroism for your conduct over the past four years" Hackett said to the crowd who was still cheering like mad.

"Admiral, I'm honored. I would also like to announce that I'm engaged to be married. My fiancé, Miranda Lawson, is here with me and we'll be getting married while I'm in Washington" Shepard said to everyone.

"Congratulations Commander. I hope you and Miranda have long and prosperous lives" Hackett said extending his hand.

Shepard took it and shook. He then motioned Miranda forward and they locked arms and walked off the gangway together and into a nearby building.


End file.
